NIT Second Round Preview: Virginia at North Texas
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (20-13) travels to No. 2 seed North Texas (25-6) for a second round NIT contest on Sunday, March 20. Tipoff at Super Pit is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
For Openers
• Virginia meets North Texas for the first time since defeating the Mean Green 80-64 on Nov. 20, 2012.
• The Cavaliers are making its 14th NIT appearance and first since advancing to the quarterfinals in 2013.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-North Texas will be streamed online at ESPN+ via WatchESPN.com and ESPN App.
• The ESPN+ video streaming subscription service is available for a $6.99 monthly fee.
• The game will also be broadcast on Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
• Live statistics will be available on VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
The Head Coach
• Dean and Markel Families Head Men’s Basketball Coach Tony Bennett has a 315-116 (.731) mark in 13 seasons at
• UVA and 384-149 (.721) career mark in 16 seasons as a head coach.
• Bennett won his 300th game at Virginia with the 61-43 victory against Lehigh on Nov. 26, 2021.
• The three-time National (2007, 2015 and 2018) and four-time ACC Coach of the Year (2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019) guided UVA to its 10th ACC regular-season championship in 2020-21.
• In 2018-19, Bennett led the Cavaliers to their first NCAA national championship, a share of their ninth ACC regular-season title and a school-record 35 wins.
• Bennett has led UVA to 10 consecutive postseason appearances (2012-22) and guided the Hoos to seven consecutive NCAA tournaments (2014-21).
• UVA is 161-70 (.700) in ACC play (90-25 at home & 71-45 away), 178-36 (.832) at home and 154-46 (.770) in non-conference action (87-9 at JPJ) under Bennett.
• Bennett ranks fifth all-time in winning percentage (.700) among ACC head coaches with 100 or more ACC wins.
UVA All-Time in the NIT
• The Cavaliers are 18-11 all-time in 14 NIT appearances, including a pair of championships in 1980 and 1992.
• UVA is 4-3 all-time in the NIT second round.
• The Cavaliers are 3-5 on the road in the NIT.
• Virginia associate head coach Jason Williford was a member of the 1992 NIT champion Cavaliers.
• The Cavaliers are 16-8 in NCAA/NIT postseason play under Bennett, including a 3-1 mark in the NIT.
• Bennett is 3-2 all-time in the NIT, including a 68-57 loss at St. Mary’s as head coach at Washington State in 2009.
Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
• The Cavaliers play defense, take good shots, share and take care of the basketball, rebound, and play more defense.
• UVA is led by its backcourt of Kihei Clark (10.2 ppg & 4.3 apg) and Reece Beekman (8.1 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.7 rpg & 2.1 spg), and the additions of transfers Jayden Gardner (15.3 ppg & 6.5 rpg) and Armaan Franklin (10.8 ppg).
• The Cavaliers added transfers Gardner (East Carolina) and Franklin (Indiana) to fill the void left by standouts Sam • Hauser (16 ppg), Jay Huff (13 ppg) and Trey Murphy III (11.3 ppg).
• Gardner averaged 18.5 points and 8.9 rebounds in 79 career games at East Carolina, while Franklin averaged 11.4 points and shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range in 2020-21.
• Francisco Caffaro (4.4 ppg & 4.7 rpg) and Kadin Shedrick (7.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg & 2.0 bpg) anchor the paint. Shedrick has started 18 contests, while Caffaro has started 15.
• Kody Stattmann (35.3% 3FGs), Malachi Poindexter, Taine Murray, Igor Miliĉić Jr. and Carson McCorkle provide perimeter depth off the bench.
Virginia All-Time vs. North Texas
• The Cavaliers are 1-2 all-time vs. Mississippi State in a series that dates back to Feb. 25, 1928.
• UVA meets the Bulldogs for the first time since an 86-84 loss on Dec. 29, 1988, in New Orleans.
• UVA defeated Mississippi State 81-68 on Dec. 27, 1963, in Owensboro, Ky.
• The Bulldogs topped the Cavaliers 44-28 on Feb. 25, 1928, in Atlanta, Ga.
Last Time vs. The Mean Green
• Justin Anderson scored 14 points off the bench to lead five players in double figures in Virginia’s 80-64 win over North Texas on Nov. 20, 2012.
• Evan Nolte (13), Teven Jones (13), Joe Harris (12) and Darion Atkins (10) each scored in double figures as Virginia improved to 4-2 in the NIT Tip-Off consolation win.
• Future NBA second-round draft pick Tony Mitchell led the Mean Green with 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
• UVA shot 58.7 percent and made 18 free throws in the win.
• Atkins added a team-high nine rebounds for the Hoos.
Last Time Out
• Jayden Gardner scored 16 points and Reece Beekman added 14 as Virginia topped No. 3 seed Mississippi State 60-57 in NIT first-round action at John Paul Jones Arena on March 16.
• UVA led 27-19 at the half and held off the Bulldogs’ 7 of 7 field goal shooting at the start of the second stanza.
• Tolu Smith had 16 points for the Bulldogs and Garrison Brooks and Iverson Molinar each added 13, respectively.
• Both teams shot 50 percent from the field and UVA owned a 12-7 made free throw advantage.
On The Horizon
• The winner of the Virginia/North Texas NIT second round game advances to the quarterfinals vs. No. 1 seed Oklahoma or St. Bonaventure on March 22 or 23. Tipoff, location and television designation is TBD.